Specialty steel maker SSAB said that it had seen no significant improvement in market conditions in the wake of its warning last month that it would slump to a loss in the third quarter due to falling demand in its main markets.

SSAB in mid September 2012 said it would post an operating loss of about USD 104.65 million in the July to September 2012 quarter as the euro zone crisis and slowdowns in China and the United States stymied growth.

Mr Martin Lindqvist CEO of SAB said that "It roughly looks very much like we communicated when we issued our profit warning."

However, Mr Lindqvist said capacity utilization in its key steel strip operations, which had sagged at around 60 percent earlier in the third quarter, had improved in line with a company forecast in connection with the profit warning. He added that "At the time we predicted production and deliveries would back up to about 70% and that is where we are at today. But one should remember that these are still very low volumes in historic levels."

One of two blast furnaces at SSAB's Oxelosund plant has been off line over the past year and Mr Lindqvist said there were no plans to start it up in the near future. He distanced himself from media reports a permanent closure was planned. He added that "Shutting it down permanently makes such a small difference as we have already taken down staffing there."

Source - Reuters

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